Breathtaking Lofoten: complete practical info

I must admit that the Lofoten Islands had been my dream destination for many years. In fact, I thought we’d visit much sooner (just the two of us), to admire the typical red houses, climb up to all those magnificent viewpoints and, above all, to feast our eyes on the tiny islets and rocky peaks. And that’s exactly what happened… only with two children :) The right time for us came at the start of June, when I’d hoped for smaller crowds of tourists and pre-season prices. What do you think – did it work out?

Before we departed, it looked as though the Lofoten Islands weren’t quite meant to be for us. First of all, our flight there was cancelled, and customer services only offered a departure a day earlier. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem – instead of 7 days, we’d spend 8 there, extend the car hire by a day, and no drama. Well, how naive of me, because when I looked for a car hire for 8 days (about a month before departure), the price came to an unbelievable 1750 €! A total rip-off. The second option was to manage the first day without a car, but there’s only one hotel near the airport, where a night would have cost 270 € + we’d have had to bring our own car seats there as well. In the end, I managed to rebook the flight for a day later instead. The arrival time was the same, so we arranged a later pick-up with the car hire company and let one day’s hire go to waste. I’ll go into more detail about the car and the hire companies below, of course.

The second hit came just before take-off in the form of Joník’s cold, when we spent ages debating whether to go or not. We literally had our rucksacks packed, the alarm set for two o’clock in the morning, and Pepa and I were just staring at each other, not knowing whether to go or not. In the end, we woke the children up after all, loaded them into the car and set off for the airport. Thank goodness, because the Lofoten air had a miraculous effect and turned Joník into a perfectly healthy child in the blink of an eye. Ufff. So… we did manage to make it after all and enjoyed our holiday exactly as planned – and I’d even go so far as to say it was one of our absolute favourite trips. So how do you spend a week in June in the Lofoten Islands with a five-year-old and a two-year-old? As always, in the first article I’ll cover general and practical information, and in the second we’ll take a look at the places that, in my opinion, are definitely worth visiting. Let’s get started!

Flights

The catalyst for this holiday was, of course, the great price of the flights, which came up about half a year before departure. I booked with Lufthansa for the Prague–Evenes (EVE) route, although in reality we flew out with Discovery Airlines (connecting via Munich) and back with Austrian Airlines (connecting via Vienna). The advantage was departing from Prague and having very reasonable connection times – meaning we didn’t have to worry about missing our connections, whilst also avoiding having to spend half a day hanging around at airports. The price for an adult return ticket came to 187 €, with the child’s ticket slightly cheaper at 176 €. Only hand luggage was included, which didn’t bother us at all, along with a drink and a small chocolate bar during the flight. The children also received lots of little gifts, such as soft toy aeroplanes, colouring books, crayons, caps and snacks.

Evenes, also known as Harstad/Narvik Airport, is, in my view, extremely convenient given its proximity to the Lofoten Islands – it’s about a three-hour drive to the first and most famous spots. Just a word of warning: it’s incredibly tiny, so you certainly don’t need to allow any excessive extra time when planning your visit. Furthermore, when visiting the Lofoten Islands, people often fly to Bodø, where you can hop straight onto a ferry, or to Tromsø, although I find the latter rather out of the way. On the other hand, if you have more time, you can combine your arrival city with a visit to the somewhat overlooked island of Senja. In both cases, you’ll need to change flights when departing from Prague, as there are currently no direct flights from the Czech Republic to the Lofoten Islands.

If you’d like to fly straight to the heart of the Lofoten Islands, look for Leknes (LKS) or Svolvær (SVJ) airports. In any case, these are domestic routes, so you’ll definitely have to change flights – most likely in Oslo. Try searching via Norwegian or SAS. 

Car rental and driving

I’d recommend booking a car straight after buying your flight tickets. And by ‘straight away’, I really mean straight away – even if it might seem ridiculously early to you. Almost everyone who flies to the Lofoten Islands wants to hire a car, because although there are some bus routes available, they won’t take you everywhere – and certainly not whenever you fancy it. And price-wise, it’s not exactly a bargain either. If you can snap up a car in good time at a reasonable price, the choice is absolutely clear to me.

As I mentioned in the introduction, leaving your booking until the last minute really isn’t worth it, because there aren’t as many car hire companies operating here as you might be used to in other destinations. Consequently, the number of cars available for hire is considerably limited, and if you delay booking, you risk paying a sky-high price or even finding that there are no cars left at all.

How much did we pay to hire a car? I booked through Booking.com with AVIS, whose office is located right in the airport terminal, and the price for 7 days came to 523 €. This is our first time with an electric car – a Toyota CHR – and we’re absolutely delighted with it. Electric cars are generally all the rage in Norway, and you don’t need to worry at all, as you’ll find charging points everywhere (at shops, campsites, etc.). When looking for charging options, you can check out apps such as Mer Connect, A Better Routeplanner, Eviny or FortumStrøm (or all of them), which will show you the charging speed, as well as the number and availability of individual charging points. Another app you’ll definitely find useful when driving in the Lofoten Islands is EasyPark – simple, quick, and it saves you from having to hunt for parking meters and spend ages figuring out when to pay and when not to.

And apart from the hire itself, you’ll probably be interested to know how much we paid in other charges related to the car:

• toll - there are no toll sections in the Lofoten Islands (neither roads nor undersea tunnels)
• parking- 60 NOK, generally speaking, you tend to pay only at genuinely touristy spots, such as the starting points of treks or certain beaches
• charging - 816 NOK
• child car seats – both children had their own, brought from the Czech Republic

I’d also like to add a few words about the driving itself. Overall, people drive quite slowly here, for two reasons. The first is the speed limits – the standard 50 in built-up areas; outside them, it’s 80, but in reality there aren’t many stretches where you can actually ‘get up to speed’ like that. More often than not, you’ll find yourself having to slow down due to narrow roads, bends or roadworks. That last point brings me to the second reason why you’ll learn not to rush in the Lofoten Islands – roadworks and repairs. It’s like this… a real pain for impatient people. In the Czech Republic, you’re used to the fact that when there’s construction or roadworks, you can either use a shuttle service or take a diversion. But here, there are so few roads that there’s simply nowhere to go round them, so you have to wait. And quite often, traffic in both directions has to wait at the same time. And quite often, for quite a long time. So what does this mean for you? The time shown on your sat-nav is very, very approximate – don’t rely on it at all, and it’s better to allow for (much) more time.

Keep an eye on the latest road closures and restrictions on these official websites. At the moment, pay particular attention to the Nappstraumtunnelen undersea tunnel, which connects the islands of Flakstadøya and Vestvågøya – though that probably won’t mean a thing to you right now. Put simply, you MUST go through it if you want to visit the western Lofoten Islands – iconic places such as Reine, Nusfjord, Ramberg and others. Repairs to this tunnel are scheduled to last until the end of 2027, and at the moment it’s not possible to walk or cycle through it; you can only drive through… and even then, only sometimes. During our visit, traffic was managed by a shuttle system, but only when accompanied by a guide vehicle. In practice, this meant that a convoy left from the direction of Leknes every hour on the hour and from the direction of Napp every half hour. Between 11 pm and 6 am, there were only two convoys. If you’re not there at the specified time, you’re simply out of luck and have to wait for the next slot.

Where to stay?

And once you’ve sorted out your flights and car hire, be sure to book your accommodation straight away, as the choice is just as limited as it is for car hire. First and foremost, if I may offer some advice, choose accommodation with a kitchenette, as restaurants and bistros in the Lofoten Islands are certainly not on every corner. And even if there were, you probably wouldn’t want to eat three meals a day there, given the local prices. I’d also recommend staying in a typical Norwegian red cottage, known as a rorbu. Originally, these little cottages – often built on stilts right above the water – were used by fishermen. Now, many of them have been renovated and are used as stylish accommodation for tourists.

We spent a total of six nights in the Lofoten Islands, staying at two different places. For most of our holiday, we stayed in a beautiful, light-filled cottage by the water Live Lofoten Fishermen's Cabins, which even had three bedrooms, a large bathroom and a kitchen-diner. I was also delighted with the location, as the Coop supermarket was just a 5-minute walk away and it was the perfect base for setting off on day trips in all directions. What’s more, the price wasn’t at all steep by local standards – 625 € for 5 nights, though the pre-season probably played a part in that. If I had to choose another place in this area around Leknes, it would be this one:

• cheaper: Statles Rorbu, Sjøstrand Rorbuer, Lofoten Havfiske or     Lofoten Camp
• more expensive: Solsiden Brygge Rorbuer, Lofoten sea view Rorbu, Superior Ocean View Lofoten and many others where the whole house is available to rent – the price and availability depend very much on the dates

On the last night before our flight, I wanted to get a bit closer to Evenes so that we wouldn’t have to drive the whole way in one go, so we decided on   Gullesfjord Camping. A classic campsite – a cabin with a parking space, bunk beds and a small kitchenette for 76 € per night. There’s also an additional charge of 50 NOK for a set of bed linen, which, incidentally, is quite common practice in Norway; it’s always best to check this in advance so you aren’t caught out when the price suddenly goes up.

What should you prepare for?

• currency - payments are made in Norwegian kroner (NOK), which, as of July 2026, are worth approximately 1 € = 11 NOK. Most importantly – you can pay by card EVERYWHERE, absolutely everywhere, so you can leave your cash at home with a clear conscience.

• prices – it’s no secret that we Czechs find Norway expensive. Everything costs either the same as on the price tag, or more often than not even more, and you have to multiply that by the exchange rate. Car hire and accommodation can be sorted out quite reasonably, provided you don’t travel during the peak season and book WELL IN ADVANCE; in any case, it all depends on your usual travel standards.

• shopping – an average meal in a restaurant here costs around 300–400 NOK, and if you fancy trying reindeer or whale steak, it’ll obviously cost even more. And that’s exactly why I recommended accommodation with a kitchenette :) Buying groceries at a local supermarket and cooking something simple at your accommodation is simply the best way to keep your budget more or less under control. Kiwi and Rema 1000 are considered the cheapest shops; on the other hand, avoid small shops, such as those at petrol stations, etc. Overall, the supermarkets have a really wide selection; you’ll also find plenty of ready-made meals, and I paid exactly the same for chilled salmon as I would in the Czech Republic.

• where you can save money – one of the advantages of the Lofoten Islands is that you don’t pay any entrance fees to access the countryside; at most, you might have to pay for parking somewhere. So, all things considered, for me the biggest expense is food. Try the TooGoodToGo app, where participating businesses try to save food from being thrown away. It works exactly the same as the Czech app ‘Nesnězeno’, though I’d say the meal deals you buy here aren’t skimpy at all… quite the opposite, in fact. We tried it twice – once with a meal deal from Coop, and the second time from a bakery in Leknes – and both were absolutely packed with food. For 49 NOK, it was a really great bargain.

• weather – it’s a complete lottery. You can experience several seasons in a single day here, so make sure you pack suitable clothing. Something that’s windproof, waterproof, and that you can layer up. The peak season in the Lofoten Islands runs from mid-June to the end of August, and in September the first lucky visitors may catch a glimpse of the northern lights. However, if this magnificent light show is your main reason for visiting, you should definitely opt for the later months, from November to March. For app lovers, I’d also like to mention two apps here: yr.no for the weather and My Aurora Forecast for tracking the northern lights.

• light / darkness – it’s also worth noting that from late May to mid-July, the Lofoten Islands experience the polar day, meaning it never gets dark. Fortunately, the accommodation has blackout blinds, but if that isn’t enough for you, you might want to bring a sleep mask with you. The advantage is that you don’t have to rush back from your excursions for fear of being caught out by darkness. What’s more, you can set off on a trek late in the day and enjoy otherwise busy spots without the crowds. Conversely, the polar night begins in early December and lasts for about a month. This is a period when the sun does not rise above the horizon but remains below it. Don’t be misled, though – it’s not complete darkness, because thanks to the twilight, the sky takes on shades of blue, purple and pink, and is occasionally illuminated by the northern lights. I think both the polar day and the polar night have their own unique charm :)

Lofoten Islands with the kids?

the Lofoten symbol - dry fish

Or, to put it another way, a question I’m often asked by people around me: is it worth coming here with children? It is for us – what about you? It’s hard to say. I’ll try to explain my point of view. It’s absolutely clear that you’re not heading to a resort with entertainment staff and a water park – in other words, non-stop fun organised by someone else. In the case of the Lofoten Islands, you’ll be the main entertainer! Don’t expect children’s play areas in restaurants, interactive exhibitions, museums or anything of the sort; in fact, even finding a simple playground here is often quite a challenge. Every local family has a slide and a swing in their garden, so there’s probably not much need to install such facilities in public spaces.

Secondly – how well can your children cope with discomfort? Sure, the sun might shine for a whole week straight and you’ll stick to your planned itinerary. But it might not… it could also rain for X days, snow, be incredibly windy, or all of the above. The weather, of course, will always be a bit of a lottery. And what about the ‘discomfort’ of walking? In the Lofoten Islands, all the trails lead uphill, so if you want to see anything, you’ll have to walk there. Ideally, therefore, you’ll need children who can walk unaided, who don’t mind the terrain or the inclines, and who can manage… let’s say at least 5 km. For younger children, a baby carrier or sling will definitely come in handy. However, bear in mind that when you let them loose somewhere at the top, don’t expect a mountain chalet with a playground and animals to stroke, as you might in the Alps. There are no chalets here… nor any playgrounds.

Reading this, it doesn’t really sound like an advert for a holiday destination with children :) BUT I haven’t taken into account – nor can I – the most important factor: YOUR children. Perhaps they’ll be “just” happy to be with you, digging in the sand on the beach, collecting shells, watching fish and jellyfish in the harbours, tasting cinnamon rolls, sleeping in a bunk bed at a campsite, looking out for moose, gazing at the boats, and so on and so forth. In the end, it’s up to you to decide.

You can go straight on to the next article featuring the places we enjoyed and which we think you definitely won’t want to miss – Best trips in Lofoten. If this information has helped you save some time or money or both, you can "invite me for a coffee" and contribute to the running of Travel with Donuts :) account number / QR code: 1257951017/3030